abstract expressionism

noun, often capitalized A&E

|Updated on: 31 Jul 2018

Definition of abstract expressionism

: an artistic movement of the mid-20th century comprising diverse styles and techniques and emphasizing especially an artist's liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means

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abstract expressionist

noun or adjective, often capitalized A&E

Recent Examples of abstract expressionism from the Web

These rugs can range from low to high based only on pattern and color combination, very much like any work of abstract expressionism.

— carmen rosy hall, Vogue, "How to Buy, and Style, a Vintage Moroccan Rug," 22 June 2018
The West Coast Light and Space movement was a response to New York Minimalism, when East Coast artists like Donald Judd and Frank Stella eschewed the tumult of abstract expressionism for austere, architectural pieces.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Tech Meets Fine Art in Larry Bell’s Glass Cubes," 22 June 2018
My artwork is influenced by surrealism, abstract expressionism and graffiti.

— milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Exuberant art of self-proclaimed emissary of light and love, opening in West Allis," 25 Apr. 2018
As a result of these elisions, the film feels less like a documentary than like a work of abstract expressionism, yet much beauty can be found in Russell's approach.

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "Chicago Underground Film Festival: Gold and copper miners tough it out in Good Luck," 5 June 2018
The subway map in Tokyo, with its looping ribbons of color, looks more like a work of abstract expressionism than a guide at first.

— mary louise schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "With Kusama Museum and art-filled islands, Japan is a paradise for art nerds," 27 Apr. 2018
Afterward, Robin Douglas of the Oceanside Museum of Art will discuss the mysterious world of 20th-century artists Dali, Miro, Magritte and de Chirico, whose paintings and philosophies influenced future art movements, such as abstract expressionism.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Daughters of the American Revolution recruiting," 2 Apr. 2018
Their experimental music mirrored developments in the art world at the time, including Fluxus and abstract expressionism.

— peter margasak, Chicago Reader, "New York School composer Christian Wolff shares his open-ended conceptions of communal music making with Chicago’s Aperiodic," 12 Jan. 2018
The show makes the definitive case for Shields’ argument that Diebenkorn did not spring whole from abstract expressionism, as is commonly thought.

— julia couzens, sacbee, "Never before seen Diebenkorn works at the Crocker Museum | The Sacramento Bee," 26 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abstract expressionism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.